Category: Video Games

Single Player Run-Through

5/2/2025

Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine (Star Wars Legends)
by Voronica Whitney-Robinson (with Haden Blackman)

Dusque is an Imperial bioengineer but her loyalty to the Empire will soon be tested - not that she had much of it to begin with. After she crosses paths with Finn, a Rebel, her life switches from collecting samples to dodging both creatures and Imperials. Her new task: find a holocron containing a list of people sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance. It must NOT fall into the hands of any Imperial.

This book has a reputation in some circles as being the worst Legends book. Nope, not by a long shot. But it's not good. The writing is clunky, the characters feel two dimensional, the prologue spoils a plot development early on and video game elements are shoehorned in on practically every page. There's also some weird decisions that don't make sense (why didn't Han and Chewie fly our heroes to the base??). That said, the pacing is surprisingly good, even with a literal side quest in the middle. I actually enjoyed that part. Less enjoyable was the romance, which would usually be my jam. All in all, a forgettable Legends entry but I'd still read it again.

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Starkiller: Part Deux

20/2/2024

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The Force Unleashed II (novelisation)
by Sean Williams

Starkiller isn't sure if he's the original or a dodgy clone, but that doesn't matter. He has one goal: find Juno Eclipse. She isn't an easy Rebel to find, however. Juno is assisting Bail Organa on a critical mission to convince the Mon Calamari and Quarren to join their cause. But no matter where Starkiller and Juno go on their separate journeys, everything leads them back to Darth Vader.

A marked improvement over the first novelisation. Williams seems to be more confident in his adaptation skills here - this reads less like a video game and more like a book. The Juno subplot works really well, since it blurs any distinct lines that might've existed between the game's levels. I will also say that the storyline given to Williams to use was more interesting and coherent this time around. But I still have issues with how this series works with the Legends canon (as in, not very...or not at all) and the open ending remains maddeningly unresolved (thanks to the cancellation of the third game).

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Mass Market Paperback Walkthrough

15/2/2024

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The Force Unleashed (novelisation)
by Sean Williams

Starkiller, the secret apprentice of Darth Vader, has been deemed worthy enough to take on rogue Jedi who might threaten the Empire. He is accompanied by PROXY, the droid whose main function is to succeed in killing him, and Juno Eclipse, the latest in a long line of pilots. But a Sith apprentice can never trust his Master. Manipulation and deceit are the greatest weapons a Sith can wield.

Hmm. It's hard to judge a book with a storyline more suited to a video game - incidentally, the plot was the weakest aspect of Sean Williams' contribution to The Force Unleashedmultimedia project. Williams didn't let the brittle backbone completely hinder him. This is a fair effort. Sure, some sections read like a video game instead of a novel (and even though I haven't played the game, I now feel like I know where all the levels start and end ha!), but the writing itself is more than decent. Alas, Williams didn't manage to properly develop anything between Starkiller and Juno... I didn't feel any chemistry there and it was awkward. But perhaps that's how it is in the game?

The Force Unleashed contradicts established Legends canon, which may frustrate anyone who has decided to read through their EU collection chronologically, as I have.

Overall, it's... an okay read. But I kind of wish I hadn't bought it.

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Game On

29/6/2023

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Republic Commando: Hard Contact (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Traviss

The Separatists are developing a nanovirus that will target clone troopers without... maybe... affecting civilian populations. Omega Squad, comprised of commandos who have outlived their former squads, are being sent to handle the problem, but this mission might be too much for four men and a self-doubting Jedi Padawan to handle. There's a good chance not all of them will make it off the planet.

This book's greatest strength could have easily been its greatest weakness - the plot is essentially one mission being carried out in enemy territory. And then it's over. But thanks to Traviss' obvious skill, it works. The pacing is on point, so there's not a dull moment to be had. Each commando is developed as an individual character and you can't help but care for them. It's certainly a much better book than I was expecting, though not so brilliant that I didn't notice the box-ticking mentions of weapons and assorted gear.

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Game Over

13/4/2023

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Battle Scars (Star Wars Jedi/Disney canon)

The crew of the Stinger Mantis, introduced to fans via Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, are on the trail of a MacGuffin - all thanks to a defecting Imperial, who they may or may not be able to trust. Once again, their lives are in danger. But this time, Merrin's heart is also at stake. This adventure is bound to end badly for someone.

I wish I wasn't writing yet another bad review of a Disney-canon Star Wars novel. Alas, I am. I've not played the game so I don't know if people are in character or not, but that's really not important when the writing is so shockingly awful. Was this even edited? At all? 40% of this book is junk prose that should have been crossed out with a red pen. Paring it down to a novella would have done wonders.

The story itself isn't terrible, though I'm bemused that Merrin hooked up with some random and was then shocked to be betrayed by said random (who she literally just met!). The lack of development in their... relationship?... made it seem like Merrin had ignored all common sense because she really needed to get laid. Gah. I want more sapphic shenanigans in my Star Wars books, but not like this!!! So I will delete this crime against literature from my memories and instead relive the superior enemies-to-lovers storyline in the Aphra comics. Tolvan/Aphra 4 life!

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Past Raider

7/1/2022

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The Making of Tomb Raider
by Daryl Baxter

I've near been much of a "gamer" per se, but Tomb Raider II came out when I was a child and it had a massive impact on me. I played it for hours. Lara Croft had - still has, in one form or another - massive appeal to just about everyone. To a young girl who was fed up with how female characters were portrayed in games, she was a revelation.

I've said it before, but here goes: video game history is one of my niche interests. I am also very fond of Lara. So obviously I was going to read this book! It was certainly a fascinating read, especially the audio side of things (My 2-year-old son's current favourite song? "Lara Plays in the Snow"). Some sections of the book resulted in "ohhhh!" moments, like the bits about Winston. He always scared me as much as the goons did and I'm glad I finally know why!

But ultimately, The Making of Tomb Raider doesn't stack up against the other oral histories I've read. Nostalgia only gets you so far. Baxter doesn't offer much analysis and the transition between prose and quotes didn't feel particularly smooth. I also feel like some things should have been expanded, like context (references to the Spice Girls aren't quite enough, I'm afraid). And yeah, it could have been edited at least once more.

Despite its faults, this book is essential reading for fans.

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Alyce Caswell's Review!

28/8/2020

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I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sid Meier has had an undeniable impact on video games for four decades and his memoir traces an easy-to-follow line between each game he worked on, giving us an understanding of how they shaped his career. He is most known for his Civilization games.

One of my niche interests is video game history and I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. It will make sense to a layperson (no complex discussion of coding) and will intrigue someone who hasn't even played Meier's games (guilty - but I have played a LOT of games that I now realise were inspired by him in some way). Meier, unlike some memoirists I've encountered, takes ownership of his mistakes and is very frank - there are no fireworks here, only facts. I also think this is essential reading for devs who already know the "how" but need to know more about the "why" in creating video games.

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Book Reviews

Single Player Run-Through

Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine (Star Wars Legends)
by Voronica Whitney-Robinson (with Haden Blackman)

Starkiller: Part Deux

The Force Unleashed II (novelisation)
by Sean Williams

Mass Market Paperback Walkthrough

The Force Unleashed (novelisation)
by Sean Williams

Game On

Republic Commando: Hard Contact (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Traviss

Game Over

Battle Scars (Star Wars Jedi/Disney canon)

Past Raider

The Making of Tomb Raider
by Daryl Baxter

Alyce Caswell's Review!

About

Archives

Categories

Book Reviews

Single Player Run-Through

Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine (Star Wars Legends)by Voronica Whitney-Robinson (with Haden Blackman)

Starkiller: Part Deux

The Force Unleashed II (novelisation)​by Sean Williams

Mass Market Paperback Walkthrough

The Force Unleashed (novelisation)by Sean Williams

Game On

Republic Commando: Hard Contact (Star Wars Legends)​by Karen Traviss

Game Over

Battle Scars (Star Wars Jedi/Disney canon)

Past Raider

The Making of Tomb Raiderby Daryl Baxter

Alyce Caswell's Review!

About

Archives

Categories

Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine (Star Wars Legends)
by Voronica Whitney-Robinson (with Haden Blackman)

The Force Unleashed II (novelisation)
by Sean Williams

The Force Unleashed (novelisation)
by Sean Williams

Republic Commando: Hard Contact (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Traviss

The Making of Tomb Raider
by Daryl Baxter